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Monday, December 03, 2007

Harry Reid: How Dare You Be Optimistic About Iraq

Don’t you know it’s devastating for his political agenda?

Democrats are increasingly bailing on their previously held view that the troop surge in Iraq has been a “failure,” but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid isn’t ready to jump on the bandwagon with other Democrats who say the surge has worked.

The Senate re-opened for business on Monday after a two-week Thanksgiving break, during which key Democrats traveled to Iraq and declared that the surge is working, at least from a security and military perspective. Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), one the top war critics, stunned fellow Democrats late last week with his statement that “the surge is working,” even though he added that political reconciliation has been lagging. Murtha’s view was backed by Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), who also said the surge worked after he returned from Iraq.

But Reid, in a Monday press conference, ceded no ground.

“The surge hasn’t accomplished its goals,” Reid said. “… We’re involved, still, in an intractable civil war.”

Troop deaths plummeting.  Iraqi deaths plummeting.  Factions across Iraq joining forces to fight against foreign terrorists.  Some 300,000 Iraqis, including 600 Shiite tribal leaders, signing a petition to condemn Iran for that country’s meddling in the war.  All of that, and more, and Reid still can’t stop talking about the “intractable civil war” in Iraq.  Something made all the worse by the fact that he’s not saying it because he actually believes there’s an “intractable civil war” going on in Iraq but because admitting that he was wrong about the war is a politically untenable position for both himself and his party.

You’ve got to give him credit for one thing, though.  It takes a special kind of dishonest lout to look out upon the public and issue a straight-faced lie of that magnitude.

Comments

The comments of Harry Reid, whose sole “military” experience came as a part-time Capitol security guard while attending law school, remind me of a vile little quote by Hillary not so long ago… something about “the willful suspension of disbelief.”


“Poverty of goods is easily cured; poverty of the mind is irreparable.”

Bat One on December 3, 2007 at 07:35 pm
Avatar for Socialist

Oh, yes, all the good news from Iraq. How many freaking times have we been told “good news”? Mission Accomplished, Establishment of the puppet government, the elections, the capture of Saddam Hussein, the terrorists “in their last throes”. Every single time has been followed by more disaster. The problem right now is that the window of opportunity created by the surge for the Iraqi government getting their act together is being missed totally. This is nothing more than a puppet regime propped up by the Bush neocons that is a complete failure.

How long do you blood-hungry war freaks want to stay in Iraq? 10 years? 100 years? 1000 years? Take your pick because we will be there just as long as we choose to be there.

Socialist on December 3, 2007 at 08:19 pm

This is nothing more than a puppet regime propped up by the Bush neocons that is a complete failure.

socialist,

Have you anything to offer to substantiate your assessment… an objective review of the situation in Iraq, or some personal knowledge or experience?

How long do you blood-hungry war freaks want to stay in Iraq?

Your spiteful invective not withstanding, it wouldn’t hurt to recall that if we pulled all our forces out of the Balkans tomorrow and used that experience as the benchmark we’d still have 4 more years to go.  Of course, we’ve had US military forces stationed in Germany for over 60 years, but I don’t suppose anyone who calls himself “Socialist” is likely pleased with that either.


“Poverty of goods is easily cured; poverty of the mind is irreparable.”

Bat One on December 3, 2007 at 08:38 pm

Lefties just love to move the goalposts when their crap is exposed for what it really is.  First, “the war is...lost”, then, “there may be some military progress, but still no political solution”.  Now, it’s “no political solution is meaningful”.  What’s next, leftie liars?


"Give the lefties a pile of money, and they’ll spend it buying votes.” - Rush Limbaugh on the “bailout”.

robert108 on December 3, 2007 at 09:42 pm

What’s next, leftie liars?
robert108 on December 3, 2007 at 09:42 pm

Stop calling people liars. Man you are something else.

ellinas on December 3, 2007 at 09:59 pm

What do you call people who lie, e?  I’m sorry; I didn’t realize you were such a delicate flower.  /sarcasm

Of course, you lefties could just start being truthful....

Harry Reid lied about the war being lost.  Get over yourself.  John Kerry lied about the troops in Vietnam.  Bill Clinton lied in court, and got Monica Lewinsky to lie in court.  Nancy Pelosi promised to end the war.  John Murtha lied about Haditha.
etc, etc, etc.


"Give the lefties a pile of money, and they’ll spend it buying votes.” - Rush Limbaugh on the “bailout”.

robert108 on December 3, 2007 at 11:14 pm
Avatar for Socialist

"What’s next, leftie liars?”

What’s next is the same exact thing I have said all along. The invasion should never have taken place to start with. This war was lost before it was even started because it was started on false premises. So now we are supposed to give credit to the Bush fascists because of a reduction in the needless death and destruction that should have never taken place?

Socialist on December 4, 2007 at 07:06 am

What’s next is the same exact thing I have said all along. The invasion should never have taken place to start with.

Laying aside your appallingly unwarranted arrogance, the fact is the invasion most certainly SHOULD have taken place.  Problem is, it happened at least a decade later than it ought.  Even if one agrees with George H. W. Bush’ decision not to proceed into Iraq and take out Saddam at the conclusion of Desert Storm, when it was later discovered that Saddam was behind the attempted assassination of then-former President Bush, Saddam’s removal ought to have been immediate.

As for this,

This war was lost before it was even started because it was started on false premises.

Your conclusion, based as it is on a truly epic ignorance of history, is just plain stupid.  There have been plenty of wars throughout history that were started for the best of reasons, but lost in any case… just as there have been at least as many successful wars started for all the wrong reasons.


“Poverty of goods is easily cured; poverty of the mind is irreparable.”

Bat One on December 4, 2007 at 07:24 am

Socialist:

The invasion should never have taken place to start with.

I happen to agree with you here, but whether that is true is is irrelevant. The invasion did take place.  We have to deal with the facts on the ground now, not five year old what ifs.

This war was lost before it was even started because it was started on false premises.

This is what passes for logic for you?

Even if it was started on false premises, that implies nothing other than the moral character of why it started. 

Again, we have to deal with the “now” not the “then.”

. So now we are supposed to give credit to the Bush fascists because of a reduction in the needless death and destruction that should have never taken place?

Compared to the needless violence that took place under Saddam, right?

Carrick on December 4, 2007 at 08:27 am

Lefties just love to move the goalposts when their crap is exposed for what it really is.  First, “the war is...lost”, then, “there may be some military progress, but still no political solution”.  Now, it’s “no political solution is meaningful”.  What’s next, leftie liars?

Because if Bush is successful in Iraq it shoots their gloom and doom agenda all to hell…


Check out:
Goon’s North Dakota Red Neck
Goon’s World

goon on December 4, 2007 at 09:45 am

What’s good for America is bad for the lefties.


"Give the lefties a pile of money, and they’ll spend it buying votes.” - Rush Limbaugh on the “bailout”.

robert108 on December 4, 2007 at 09:54 am
ews48 on December 4, 2007 at 10:52 am

More evidence that bad news for America is good news for the lefties.


"Give the lefties a pile of money, and they’ll spend it buying votes.” - Rush Limbaugh on the “bailout”.

robert108 on December 4, 2007 at 11:09 am

ews, that clearly illustrates the problem with leftard thinking. The people of Samarra refuse to help themselves, and you call it America’s failure.

And note, socialist has changed its webpage address back to fascism.com. Typical confused leftard.


Una Salus Victus Nullam Sperare Salutem

2Hotel9 on December 4, 2007 at 11:31 am

I guess that the US Army is going to have to remove Al Qaeda from that town of Samarra as well…


Check out:
Goon’s North Dakota Red Neck
Goon’s World

goon on December 4, 2007 at 11:41 am

EWS48:

Here’s some more good news [blah blah wah! wah!]

Following EWS’s logic, I understand some guy stubbed his toe someplace.  Obviously our policy in Iraq has failed.

Carrick on December 4, 2007 at 07:10 pm
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